Harmonica construction



Sept. 27, 1955 F. H. MAGNUS HARMONICA CONSTRUCTION Filed July 24, 1951INVENTOR. FINN H8 MAQNUS WyM/@My i Has ATTORNEYS United States PatentOffice 2,718,808 Patented Sept. 27, 1955 HARMONICA CONSTRUCTION Finn H.Magnus, Essex Fells, N. J.

Application July 24, 1951, Serial No. 238,310

2 Claims. (Cl. 84-377) The present invention relates to improvements inthe construction of a harmonica and relates more particularly to theassembly of a metal cover with a reed plate and a comb section.

The various objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent and best understood from the following description and theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a harmonica embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end View of the harmonica illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a reed plate for the harmonica illustrated inFig. l;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the reed plate illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in section along the line 5--5 of Fig. 1with certain parts of the harmonica omitted for the purposes ofillustration; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary View in section corresponding to Fig. 5 of amodified construction embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the harmonica, as illustrated inFigs. l and 2, consists of a comb section 10 with reed plates 11 securedon opposite sides thereof and covers 12 extend over the outer surfacesof the reed plates.

The assembly of the reed plates and covers on the opposite sides of thecomb section are the same and for the purposes of brevity, only one sideof the assembly will be described hereinafter. The reed plate 11 ispreferably made of a suitable thermoplastic material such as polystyreneand has a series of openings therein each of which has a reed 13 thereinthat is formed integrally with the reed plate. The comb section 10 isalso made of plastic material and has passageways (not shown) thereinwhich communicate with the openings for the reeds 13 in the reed platein the usual manner. The central portion of the cover 12 is spaced fromthe outer face of the reed plate and is open along the top edge thereofto permit air to flow through the openings in the reed plate and thepassageways in the comb section when the harmonica is being played.

The present invention relates in particular to an inexpensive andeffective way in which the cover 12 may be secured to the plastic reedplate and comb section. The ends 14 of the cover 12 are at and restagainst the outer face of the reed plate 11. As shown best in Fig. 5,each of the flat ends 14 of the cover 12 has an opening therein throughwhich a pin 15 projecting from the outer face of the reed plate 11extends. The pins 15 may be formed integrally with the reed plate andafter the cover has been put in place on the reed plate, a head 16 isformed on the pin by applying heat thereto. Thus, the headed portions 16of the pins 15 extend over the cover 12 adjacent the openings in theends thereof and engage with the outer surface of the cover so as tohold the cover in place.

The plastic reed plate 11 may be secured to the plastic comb section 10by suitable adhesives or solvents in the usual manner. The comb section10 has bosses 17 at the ends thereof and the bosses 17 have recesses 18therein into which pins 19 projecting from the inner face of the reedplate 11 extend so as to position the reed plate properly with respectto the comb section. In assembling the harmonica, the cover may beassembled to the reed plate either before or after the reed plate issecured to the comb section.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6, the combsection 10 has pins 20 projecting beyond its outer faces at each endthereof. In this construction the reed plate 11 and the cover 12 havealigned openings at the ends thereof through which the pins 20 projectwhen the reed plate and cover are assembled with the comb section. Aftersuch assembly the heads of the pins 20 are flattened, as indicated at21, by applying heat thereto which secures the reed plate and cover tothe comb section. In such a construction the comb section and the pins20 are molded of a thermoplastic material, but it is not essential forthe reed plate to be made of a thermoplastic material.

Although the embodiments of the invention illustrated and describedherein relate in particular to the assembly of the component parts of aharmonica, it will be understood that the invention may be employed asan economical and effective way of assembling two or more componentparts of other units where at least one of the parts is made of athermoplastic material. It will also be understood that those skilled inthe art may make various changes and modifications in the embodiments ofthe invention illustrated and described herein without departing fromthe scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a harmonica, the combination comprising a comb section of plasticmaterial, said comb section having tubular bosses at the ends thereof, areed plate of thermoplastic material, a cover extending over said reedplate, said cover having an opening located at each end thereof and pinsof thermoplastic material formed integrally with and projecting from theinner and outer faces of the reed plate, the pins on the inner face ofthe reed plate registering with and extending into the tubular bosses onthe comb section, the pins on the outer face of the reed plateregistering with and extending through the openings in the cover, saidlast-mentioned pins having headed portions extending over and engagingwith the outer surface of the cover.

2. In a harmonica, the combination comprising a comb section of plasticmaterial, said comb section having a series of spaced openings in oneface and side thereof and having tubular bosses formed integrallytherewithl extending from said face, a reed plate of thermoplasticmaterial having a series of spaced reeds thereon, pins formed integrallywith the reed plate and extending from opposite faces thereof, the pinson one of said faces fitting into the tubular bosses and aligning thereeds on the reed plate with the openings in the face of the combsection and a cover extending over the reed plate, said cover havingopenings therein through which the pins on the other of the faces of thereed plate extend, said last-mentioned pins having headed portionsextending over and securing the cover to the reed plate.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSGaukstern Feb. 5, 1952

